Can You Hear What God is Telling You? Matthew 13:1-9

Matthw 13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 

Jesus begins again to teach about the kingdom of heaven and how it comes to earth.  Notice he sits down to teach.  He was very informal and relational in his teaching method.  He teaches them the well known parable today about the "Sower and the Seed".  

Jesus taught in parables as a way to draw in his listeners to seek the truth.  Parables were earthly analogies with a spiritual meaning.  Usually there was ONE main point in the parable. 

2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 

“The teacher sat, and the people stood: we should have less sleeping in congregations if this arrangement still prevailed.” (Spurgeon)

This was Jesus' natural pulpit.  It provided good acoustics and beautiful surroundings, from which he could draw upon for his teaching.  Recently our church met outside during COVID. It was great to see the sun rising during the early morning services.  On Easter morning at our sunrise service, the sun rose and shined on the cross alone.  It was quite spectacular.

3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 

Since Jesus lived in an agricultural setting, this parable would have a lot of relevancy to them.  Jesus always taught where people were at, not using sophisticated theology, but something the people could understand.  Though it was simple it was profound.  

The term "parable" means to "set alongside".  It is the same root word for the math term "parabola". A parabloa is a an open curve which intersects at some common intersection.  In a parable the intersection of the main point of the story. 

4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 

The "path", or the "way", was usually hardened by travelers on foot.  Since it was hard, the seed could not get into the ground making it easy for the birds to eat.  

5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 

The rocky ground was similar but different to the hardened path.  

"Stony places were where the soil was thin, lying upon a rocky shelf. On this ground the seed springs up quickly because of the warmth of the soil, but the seed is unable to take root because of the rocky shelf." Guzik

6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 

Though there was some initial growth and hope for the seed to be fruitful, since were no roots, the seed had little chance to yield fruit. 

7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 

The thorny ground was probably fertile, but because of this it was the perfect environment for weeds to grow as well.  Though there was some growth due to the good soil, the growth was quickly "choked out" because of the hostile weeds.  

8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 

Finally, we get to the main point of the story, which is the good soil that produced an abundant crop.  

Notice:

1. Whereas in the three previous environments the seed failed to produce what it was intended to do, this one created the ideal scenario for growth and fruit bearing.  

2. The soil was the key.  Whatever we are to learn from this parable has to do with the type of soil and what that means in spiritual terms. 

3. The growth was exponential.  Once the right kind of soil was present, the seed not only grew but grew prodigously.  It was not "one for one" growth but MANY times over. It was exponential much like an investment grows exponential over time.   This soil condition more than made up for the other scenarios for which there was no growth. 

9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Jesus ends by saying that although this may seem like a simple and mundane analogy, there is much to be learned from it. 

"Ears" is not so much in the physical sense hearing, but ears ready to hear and obey.  We often call this "openness", or "teachability".  If a player does not listen to the coach's instructions and just "blows him off", there is a little chance of him developing the skils necessary to becoming a great player.  

Whenever we read the Word of God we need to have "ears", which are not only willing to listen but to hear and obey.

What is God's Word telling you today?  Can you hear what God is saying?  Can you slow down enough in your day to truly listen and then put it into practice?  What does the good soil mean to you?  Why is it so important in today's teaching?  What do you think is Jesus' main point and how does it apply to your life?